THAI ISLANDS – WEST

07-02-20

Koh Phi Phi – Koh Lanta – Krabi

5 nights – 4 nights – 2 nights

KOH PHI PHI

Home to the famous Maya Bay which features in the movie, The Beach, Phi Phi is made up of two separate islands; Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Ley. Phi Phi Ley is a private island with no hotels on and this is where Maya Bay is situated. Phi Phi Don is where you can stay and then visit it’s neighbour, Ley, by boat.

The main town of Phi Phi Don is called Tonsai which is where you will arrive into on the ferry. This is a bustling little town with lots of accommodation, bars and restaurants. However, our next 5 nights on Phi Phi were going to coincide with my birthday therefore we were looking for somewhere a bit more special to stay. We ended up staying on Long Beach which looks out directly to Phi Phi Ley therefore providing unreal, movie-worthy views! 😍

Tonsai town is easily reachable from Long Beach at 100 baht/person and only takes around 5 minutes. It’s not always necessary to go over to Tonsai during the day as you have paradise on your doorstep at Long Beach however it is nice to venture over in the evening for dinner and drinks🍹

All over the island you will find longboat drivers and tour operators offering a 6 hour boat day in order to explore the several bays, beaches and most importantly, Phi Phi Ley! We grabbed various quotes from all the long boat drivers on Long Beach until we found a route, price and package we were happy with 🚤

We went on the 6 hour boat day on my birthday and our wonderful driver, Son, redecorated the front of his boat with new flowers and colourful fabric ribbons for the celebrations. This really does just sum up the wonderful culture and personality of the Thai people ♥️

Our boat day started at 9am where Son took us directly to Maya Bay in order to avoid the busy period of tour boats arriving! You are still unable to physically step foot on the beach due to previous overcrowding however the boats dock up and you can jump off and snorkel 🤿 Son then took us to more hot spot snorkelling locations as well as to a beach to stop off for some lunch.

Side note: It’s worth noting that Son provided us with endless bottles of chilled water, an array of fruit and snorkels and flippers for everyone. This was super helpful and worth asking if other drivers offer this service.

We finished off our day by heading to Shark Point which is right by Long Beach. We were lucky enough to snorkel alongside some black tip coral reef sharks 🦈 This was a totally unreal experience and would definitely recommend!

Another top destination on Phi Phi is Monkey Beach where, clue is in the name, wild monkeys live and roam 🐒 Unfortunately this is quite busy due to its popularity and we didn’t see any monkeys therefore Son took us to a quieter bay with a huge family of monkeys! However we did snorkel at monkey beach where we saw, thanks to my brother for spotting, a female black tip shark with her babies! She must have been over 6ft long and was in water no deeper than 1 metre! Therefore if snorkelling with sharks is on your agenda, Phi Phi shouldn’t disappoint!

Overall, Phi Phi is so beautiful and at the top of our favourite Thai islands! Just please keep it beautiful by picking up any rubbish you find on the sea or beaches like we did 💚

***************

KOH LANTA

A simple and easy one hour ferry ride from Phi Phi to Lanta, this large island offers lots of variety. From partying on the beach to quiet and secluded bays for peaceful sunbathing and reading, Lanta really has got it all.

We stayed in a brilliant accommodation, Pinky Bungalows which is situated a one minute walk away from Long Beach, the main strip of sand on Koh Lanta 🌴 The staff are super helpful and friendly plus they offer a great range for a cheap breakfast. What’s more, they have a pool which is an absolute blessing when travelling in hot and humid climates 🏊🏻‍♀️

Long Beach is your go-to place for endless music, parties and fire shows. This beach is filled with restaurants and bars one after another and they all light up their wooden shacks of a night which creates a real friendly scene here. An absolute must for dinner on this beach is Patty’s Secret Garden – there is no such thing as a bad choice from their menu and they had a live band and fire show when we went🙌🏼

An amazing beach spot on Lanta has to be Beautiful Beach 🏝 just a 10 minute walk north of Pinky Bungalows this quiet and secluded bay is yet to be discovered by the masses. Just one family run shack is on the beach who churn out beautiful Thai dishes for £2 each 😋 A guaranteed perfect beach day out.

Another beach known for being the best on the island is Kantieng Bay. Unlike Beautiful Beach, this sand strip is super long therefore loads of choice to plot up with your beach towel 👙 A great place for some lunch here is Same Same But Different, this restaurant not only serves great food but fresh fruit shakes and juices too 🍌

Overall, the whole vibe of Koh Lanta is contagious. Everyone is so friendly here with great spots to explore all along the coast and inland. Somewhere you could easily stay for a few weeks to explore, relax and live the island life 🧡

*************

KRABI

As our 30 day Thailand visa came to a close, it meant we only had 2 nights in our last stop, Krabi, before we flew from there to Kuala Lumpar.

The ferry from Lanta to Krabi was again really nice and easy and took roughly 2 and a half hours. When arriving into the port at Krabi, if your accommodation isn’t walking distance, Grab (taxi app) is available here and massively cheap and reliable 🚖 You pay by cash at the end of your ride so no need to worry about card details unlike Uber.

While we were in Krabi Town and strolling around looking for some dinner we came across an incredible market filled with food, clothing and even a cacti stall! 🌵 After doing some research I believe it is called the Krabi Night Plaza and is located opposite the The Mud Crabs Sculpture. We feasted on a variety of food stall dishes all while some locals sang and breakdanced on a stage! This is by sure a must-visit 🙌🏼

Unfortunately, Krabi isn’t too well connected to the locals beaches such as Ao Nang and Railay. The only way to arrive is either a 45 minute long boat from the pier, local bus which can be quite unreliable timing wise or a Grab. Considering Grab only cost us £2 for a 30 minute journey, this was the best option by far.

After the Grab to Ao Nang we were able to get a long boat from here, over to Railay (which is only accessible by boat). Railay is the most popular and beautiful beach in Krabi and you can see why with it’s limestone surrounding cliffs and gorgeous waters 🌊 This famous beach is definitely worth the day trip ☀️

Ultimately, Krabi served as a great transport link for us in order to fly out of Thailand before our visas expired however it is definitely worthy of more nights stay in order to island and beach hope around its coast 🌟

Peace and love,

Yasmin xo